New Charges Hit Fire Department

Crew From North Side Accused Of Cavorting With Revelers On Truck

The Chicago Fire Department's internal affairs unit is investigating reports that firefighters from a North Side firehouse were cavorting on a fire engine with women, city officials confirmed Thursday.

The allegation surfaced at a tumultuous time for the Fire Department, which is already investigating allegations of racial harassment at one firehouse and is searching to replace its ousted commissioner.

"There's an ongoing investigation of misconduct on Engine 55," said Fire Cmdr. Will Knight. "Someone made a complaint. We're investigating it. That's all that we know."

Specifically, investigators are looking into reports that on a mid-October night, the firefighters gave women from a lakefront party a ride near their firehouse and that the women may have brought beer aboard the fire engine, city and union officials said.

Firefighters have not denied giving partygoers a ride, but they say they were acting as good Samaritans because the people were stranded, said the head of the firefighters' union. The firefighters also told investigators that the women and a man visited the firehouse at 2714 N. Halsted St., in the wee hours of the following morning, to thank them for the ride, the union official said.

The Fire Department began an investigation after receiving a complaint about the fire engine driving through the North Side with firefighters and women in party clothes standing on the back of the truck.

So far, several firefighters assigned to Engine 55 have been questioned by the department's internal affairs unit. But the investigation will not be completed until several more firefighters who are on vacation return to work and can be questioned, officials said.

William Kugelman, president of the Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2, said he sat in on the interviews with several firefighters and believes the incident was blown out of proportion.

According to Kugelman, Engine 55 was called to a car fire near the Chicago Yacht Club at Belmont Harbor about 8 p.m., only to find a radiator hose hissing steam. But before they could return to the firehouse, the engine was swarmed by revelers from an event at the yacht club, he said.

After the firefighters peeled the partygoers off their engine, they agreed to give several people from the party a ride, Kugelman said. He said three partygoers--two women and a man--asked for the ride because their driver was too drunk to drive and they didn't want to be stranded.

The partygoers were dropped off at the Walgreens Drug Store, 740 W. Diversey Pkwy., and the firefighters then returned to the fire station, he said. Kugelman said the partygoers stopped by the firehouse about 2 a.m. to thank the firefighters for the ride.

"It's much to do about nothing," Kugelman said. "They admitted they gave them a ride. . . . But what are they supposed to do. Just leave them there?"

Kugelman acknowledged that it was against department rules to give people rides on a fire engine and to stand while the truck is in motion. Firefighters are supposed to be belted into their seats while the engine is moving, he said.

"(The partygoers) said that their driver was drunk," said Kugelman, who described the firefighters' action as a public relations move. "So they got them out of that neighborhood and helped them."

A fire captain who was summoned to the phone at Engine 55 declined to comment.

It was unclear if the incident occurred on Oct. 15 or 16.

John Cummings, the chef and manager of the Belmont Harbor yacht club, said there was a wedding at the club on Oct. 16 that was very tame. The night before, however, he said there was a private party with about 250 people that "wasn't quite out of hand, but it was a good party."

Cummings said he did not see a fire truck outside the club either night.

The allegation emerged at a turbulent time for the fire department.

This week, city officials confirmed they were trying to determine who painted a swastika on the locker of an African-American firefighter. The Nazi symbol was found Oct. 21 at Engine Co. 129, 8120 S. Ashland Ave.

And two weeks ago, Fire Commissioner Edward Altman resigned under criticism after a feud with his oldest son became public. It was the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents during Altman's tenure, many of them centered around drunken or racist behavior by firefighters or paramedics.

Mayor Richard Daley is expected to announce a replacement for Altman quickly, and James Joyce, a veteran firefighter and the department's second-in-command, is widely considered the front-running candidate.

If the allegations about Engine 55 and the swastika prove correct, they could provide additional fodder to Daley's belief that firefighters have too much time on their hands and should perhaps be moved to eight-hour shifts. Currently, firefighters work 24 hours, then have 48 hours off.